Homemade Laundry Detergent

One day I got an email from a friend what mentioned some homemade cleaning products. Now, I like my house and clothes clean, and I also like to save money. The recipes seemed easy enough so I decided to switch over to homemade cleaning products as my current ones ran out. The first thing I ran out of was laundry detergent. Here are two recipes that I have used. Both work great, are easy to make, and save LOTS of money! I'll post a run-down of costs so you can see how much you can save. These detergents do not make suds and are fine for the newer machines. You can also add a little essential oil to the liquid detergent if you would like some fragance.

Homemade Laundry Detergent (liquid)
6 cups water
1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap, grated
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda (not baking soda)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Borax
1 1/2 gallons water, plus 1 pint hot water (26 cups)

In a large pot (an old canner works well) put 6 cups of water and the grated Fels Naptha. Heat over medium heat until the Fels Naptha is melted. Shut off the heat and add washing soda and borax. Add the 1 1/2 gallons plus 1 pint of hot water and stir. Remove from the stove, cover and let set for 24 hours. Mixture will thicken and gel as it cools. After 24 hours stir and bottle. ( I used old milk bottles, but you can use old detergent bottles as well). Gently shake before each use. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load. If clothes are heavily soiled, use 1 cup of mixture per load.

Homemade Laundry Detergent (powder)

1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap
3/4 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda
3/4 cup 20 Mule Borax

Mix all ingredients together and store in a container. (I used a tupperware container that had a lid). Use 2 Tbsp for light/regular loads, and 3Tbsp for heavily soiled loads. For the newer energy efficient machines, use 1 Tbsp for light/regular loads and 2 Tbsp for heavily soiled loads.